Apologies for the "service has ended" notification. Hopefully it doesn't bother you too much. Didn't realize it was still up until after we shot the video. 

Zephaniah
Breakdown: 1 and 2- Judgment; Chapter 3- hope, renewal and restoration
Chapter 1

1. V2-3 Threat
2. V4-6 False worship
3. V7-13
   1. Covenant curses: Lev. 26:32-33; Deut. 28:30
4. V14-18 Great Day

 
Chapter 2 God will judge enemies of Judah to the N, S, E and W
Chapter 3:9-20

1. Return of a scattered people v9-10
2. Restoration of a sinful people v11-13
3. Rejoicing of a saved people v14-20

King Josiah - 2 kings 22-23
King Jehoiakim- 2 Kings 23-24

Habakkuk predicts the coming of the Babylonian invasion, 1:6
Habakkuk is representative of the godly in Judah
Hab. 2:4 used in the NT: Romans 1:17, Gal. 3:11, Heb 10:37-38
Outline of book:
1. 1st complaint 1:2-4
a. Why does evil seem to go unpunished?
2. God's answer 1:5-11
a. I am raising up the Babylonians
3. 2nd complaint 1:12-2:1
a. How could a holy God used unholy people to judge the righteous?
4. God's response, chapter 2
a. the just shall live by faith
b. Luther on Romans 1:17: "Then finally God had mercy on me, and I began to understand that the righteousness of God is a gift of God by which a righteous man lives, namely by faith, and that sentence: the righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, is passive, indicating that the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: 'The righteous shall live by faith.' No I felt as though I have been reborn altogether and had entered paradise. In the same moment the face of the whole Scripture became apparent to me. My mind ran through the Scriptures, as far as I was able to recollect them, seeking analogies in other phrases such as the work of God, by which He makes us strong, the wisdom of God, by which He makes us wise, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God. Just as intensely as I had now hated the expression 'the righteousness of God', I now lovingly praised this most pleasant word. this passage from Paul became to me the very gate to Paradise."
c. 5 woes- v6,9,12,15,19
5. Habakkuk's prayer- chapter 3
a. v17-19 salvation and restoration guaranteed 

Joel means “Yahweh is God”
Occasion for writing: Locust plague
Major themes: Day of the Lord and repentance
Luther’s 1st of 95 theses: When our Lord and master Jesus Christ said “Repent”, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
If you’d like to read his interpretation of his 95 these please click here:
http://www.oocities.org/united_in_christ_3in1/95explained.pdf
​
NT use of Joel:
1.            Mark 13:24
2.            Acts 2:16-21
3.            Romans 10:13 references Joel 2:32
4.            Rev. 6:12,13
5.            Rev. 9:2,3
Outline of Joel breaks into 2 parts
1.            1:2-2:17: Judah experiences foretaste of the Day of the Lord
2.            2:8-3:21: Judah is assured of salvation in the Day of the Lord
 
First Division 1:2-2:17 is broken down into 5 units
1.            1:2-4 Call to attention
2.            V5-14 Call to lament and repent
3.            15-20 Lamentation
4.            2:1-11 Call to alarm
5.            12-17 Call to repentance
 
Second Division into 2 segments
2:18-27 promises to spare and restore Joel’s generation
 2:28-3:21 looks beyond the immediate to the future and final vindication
Joel 3 develops the Day of the Lord

1. A day of reckoning v2
2. V12 nations summoned
3. V14-16 battle in details

Obadiah

1. Background/Context
   1. Obadiah means “Servant/ Worshipper of Yahweh” likely indicates he was a prophet.
   2. Obadiah’s prophecy concerns Edom and its attack on Jerusalem (vv. 10-14). Although there are various dates that could be applicable, the best date is shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. Psalm 137:7 refers to the Edomites and their encouragement of the Babylonian attack
   3. The prophecy concerns Edom because Edom had been found guilty of pride before God (v.3). This pride led to the charge against Edom in verse 10: “Because of violence towards your brother Jacob.” Edom did not choose his brother’s side; Edom chose to side with the enemies of Jerusalem in the day of her destruction (v.11). As a result, God’s judgment will be on Edom. Obadiah wanted to let Edom know that God will judge Edom severely in the future
   4. There are four series of oracles in verses 2-14 portraying the aspects of what God judges in Edom: 
      ONE- Pride and arrogance in verses 2-4

CS Lewis: According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind
TWO- Greed and plunder in verses 5-6
THREE- Loss of wisdom and understanding in verses 7-8
FOUR- Violence and gloating over the suffering of others in verses 10-14

Main characters: Jonah but God remains the central character
Jonah stands in contrast to the rest of the characters in the story
Jonah is not only a reluctant prophet but Jonah serves as a microcosm of disobedient Israel
Primary purpose is to demonstrate God’s character, mainly his grace, mercy and compassion for humanity while demonstrating “Salvation belongs to the Lord 2:9.
Book also shows us the Word of God will not return void
 
Outline

1. Jonah’s reluctance
2. Jonah’s crisis
3. Jonah’s mission
4. Jonah’s apathy

Chapter 1
V1-2 Divine commission- expect obedience- took off in other direction- God said Go Jonah said No
Pagan sailors willing to do everything to save Jonah yet Jonah unwilling to make an effort for pagan Ninevites. Claimed to fear God but actions denied it
Sailors on other hand demonstrated their genuine fear of the Lord by submissively responding to God’s will and power as revealed in casting of lots and the storm
Chapter 2 Jonah’s experience parallels that of the sailors
            Faces crisis at sea
            Prays to Yahweh
             Receives deliverance
            Offers sacrifice and makes vow
Jonah’s movement down: which is not good, symbolizing moving father and farther away from God

Chisholm writes: "One would hope that his bout with death might give him some sympathy for the Ninevites plight and a greater appreciation for the task God gave him. However, the disdain he showed for the pagans foreshadowed the attitude he would display in the story’s final scene."
​
2:10 God demonstrates compassion and mercy without Jonah’s repentance by rescuing an undeserving prophet from death
Chapter 3
Obeys, declares, Ninevites respond positively v4
3:5-9 Ninevites like sailors respond positively to message
Lord spared repentant v10- Lord acts according to His nature
Chapter 4
Jonah’s anger stark contrast to God’s mercy
Praise God s mercy and grace in wake of his rebellion but deems these same attributes unjust when benefit Nineveh
4:9-11 object lesson of plant God contrasts his mercy with Jonah’s anger and His abundant compassion and lack of Jonah’s
God’s question is left unanswered  because Jonah and the reader must contemplate our own answer in light of God’s mercy, grace and compassion

Where Jonah refused to be sent, Jesus obeyed and submitted Himself to the Father’s will
Jonah acted selfishly. Jesus humbly emptied himself Phil 2:5-11
Jesus comes as something better – comes as mediator 1 Tim 2:5-6  one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus
A mediator is one intervenes between the two parties, to make peace, to make a covenant or for friendship.
The man Christ Jesus- true humanity in every way, God taken up our humanity
Christ Jesus- Christ – Annointed One, Divine Messiah
This mediator gave his life as a ransom- Jonah sought the cities destruction, Jesus sought our salvation
Ransom-price paid to free a slave. Christ paid the ransom to free us from the slavery of sin
           
 

The book of Nahum is about the destruction of Nineveh almost 150 years after Jonah’s preaching
Michael Goheen writes: “No faithful missional community will survive that does not take seriously the task of training the next generation to walk tin the way of the Lord and to encounter other ways of life. Without such instruction, that next generation will be terribly vulnerable to idolatrous ways of the surrounding nations.” A Light to the Nations
Nineveh destroyed by Babylon in 612 BC under Nabopolassar
Book is dated between 663-612BC according to two events in the book:

1. Fall of Egyptian city of Thebes (3:8) in 663 BC
2. Prophecy of fall of Nineveh 612 BC

Message is twofold: 1:2 threaten Nineveh concerning God’s judgment and 1:7-15 consolation for Judah that the enemy is finally being judged
Simple outline:

1. God’s judgment declared-chapter 1
2. God’s judgment described- chapter 2
3. God’s judgment defended- chapter 3

 
Chapter One

1. Character of God
2. V3 Whilrwind and storm- Near East literature storm gods portrayed as using elements in battle contexts
3. V7-11 God’s protection of His people
4. V12-15 Salvation/Judgment/Celebration

Chapter Two

1. V1-10 totality of destruction
2. V13- God’s hand in destroying the nation

Chapter Three

1. V1,4 Why judgment?
2. V2-3 Destruction pictured
3. V5-13 humiliation

Message for today:

1. God is a holy God who exercises His wrath
   1. God intensely hates all sin
   2. God’s wrath can be satisfied through Christ alone
   3. Jesus is a sacrifice of atonement to take away our guilt and appease God’s wrath
   4. Propitiation- To propitiate is to appease or satisfy.  Jesus’s death satisfied god’s justice and wrath against us.
   5. Expiation- Blotting out or removal of sin. The supreme act of expiation is Christ’s work on the cross.
   6. Verses to look up: Romans 1:18-32, 2:5, 3:21-26, 5:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Ephesians 2:1-10, 5:6
2. God is Sovereign King over all nations
   1. Revelation 18:4-8, 20, 19:1-3
3. Need for the church to be prophetic
   1. We go into the world warning nations and peoples there is a wrath and a judgment to come unless you repent and trust in Jesus

Minor Prophet Micah Lesson notes

If you have a question or would like to make a comment, please click the COMMENT link above. You'll need to fill out your name. After writing in the comment box, click SUBMIT. I will get back to you as soon as possible.

MICAH 
Name means "Who is like Yahweh?"
Occasion for writing is similar to Amos and Hosea: social injustices, oppressive wealthy rulers and idolatrous worship
1:1 Jotham 750-735 BC, Ahaz 735-715 BC, Hezekiah 715-686 BC
Divided into 3  cycles around the word "hear" or " listen"
A. Cycle one 1:2-2:13
B. Cycle two 3:1-5:15
C. Cycle three 6-7:20

Cycle One 1-2:13
A. Picture of divine judgment
B. v15 He who is the glory of Israel - 1 Sam. 15:29
C. Oppressive wealthy rulers and false prophets- see 2 Tim. 4:3-4
D. 2:12-13 God has not forgotten His people

Cycle two 3-5:15
A. God's people are to live in a way that is consistent with the covenant 
B. Ch 3- Wealthy tearing the people apart and in response God will not hear their prayers- see Isa. 59:1-2
C. False prophets and true prophet v8
D. Ch 4- Compare with Isaiah 2- Lord as universal King, militaries obsolete, peace and prosperity
E. Ch 5- siege is part of covenant cures- Deut. 28:45-52
F. 6 "I will's"

Cycle three 6-7:20
A. 6:6 God does not want religious formalism
B. 7:14-20- Opening words in 1:1 are judgement, closing words are merciful and bring hope

This is a test.

Sunday School Minor Prophet Study. Book of Hosea.

Here is an outline of the notes. Powerpoint will not be used during these videos starting Dec 5. All notes and helpful information will be in this section.
1. Date
2. Background
3. Outline
4. Part One- marriage Infidelity
5. Part Two- Israel's infidelity 

Sunday School is to be interactive. If you have a question or would like to make a comment, please do so by clicking the "comment" button under the boldface heading. Questions in the comment section will be answered with a reply in the comments. We will take a few minutes in the next class to address any questions that were posed as well. 

Starting December 5 the weekly Sunday School will be posted here (on Saturday morning) for you to play and learn at your own time. 

Please leave a comment regarding your experience getting onto the website, finding the video study, ease of using the comment section and anything else you'd like us to know to help this experience. We do plan to meet together once again but video will be the way to go, though only temporarily.


​

​Last week we looked at three prayers for the church to pray during these divisive times.
1.Division overcome by our unity
2. Seeking the wisdom from above
3. Becoming James 1:19 Christians
Here are two more ways to effectively pray for the church during divisive and unsteady times.
 Pray for the calming of our hearts through growing confidence in God
God is supreme. There is nothing greater or more powerful than God.
“Is anything too hard for the Lord”? (Genesis 18:14; see also Luke 1:37) The answer is NO! Our confidence is based upon God’s nature, not circumstances.  May our hearts find calm in the powerful hand of God, knowing that nothing can overpower God.
God is in control. He is the Alpha and Omega. God is not trying to wrangle in a world out of control; He controls all things. Ephesians 1:11: “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”
God is near. Philippians 4:5-6 “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious for anything but in everything with prayer and petition make your requests known to God”. God walks with you right now, never departing, even in the valley of the shadow of death. Our great confidence in uncertain times is the reliability of our great God whose presence is constantly with us so that we are never alone.
Pray for growing confidence of the hope we have in Christ.
In Christ, we are delivered from God’s wrath and judgement and transferred into eternal life in the holy presence of God. The greatest danger one can face is not death- its death uncovered, naked, in one’s own righteousness. For the Christian, we stand covered in the righteousness of Christ. His wrath has been removed; His Son judged in our place so we can stand before God as righteous. The worst we can face in life was taken up by Christ in our place on the cross and in the tomb. Because He lives, we have life!!
Christ shattered the fear of death in His own death (Heb 2:14-15). We fear God, not death. We are never more alive than when we face death courageously in Christ, knowing He has conquered it.
Now is the time for steady confidence in God. News reports, social media and sorts play on our fears and divide. The Word of God gives us assurance in the uncertain, steadiness in unsteady times, solid rock among sinking sand of world’s philosophies.